Apparatus for connecting webs of sheet material



Oct 1956 E. R. ARMELIN ET AL APPARATUS FOR CONNECTING WEBS 0F SHEETMATERIAL Filed Oct. 27, 1953 5 Shets-Sheet l Oct. 16, 1956 E. R. ARMELINETAL APPARATUS FOR CONNECTING WEBS OF SHEET MATERIAL Filed 001:. 27,1953 3 Sheets-Shet 2 1956 E. R. ARMELIN ET AL APPARATUS FOR CONNECTINGWEBS OF SHEET MATERIAL Filed Oct. 27, l953 s Sheets-Sheet a UnitedStates Patent APPARATUS FOR CONNECTING WEBS 0F SHEET MATERIAL Edouard R,Armelin, Ealing, and Arthur F. G. Plasliett, Pinner, England, assignorsto Societe a Responsabilite Limitee dite: Societe dEtudes de MachinesSpeciales, Paris, France Application October 27, 1953, Serial No.388,506

Claims priority, application Great Britain October 30, 1952 6 Claims.(Cl. 154-423) This invention relates to apparatus for connecting a freshweb of' sheet material, such as paper, to another such web whileprinting and/ or other operations are being performed on the latter web.a

In printing or other machines in which printing and/ or other operationsare performed continuously upon a travelling web of paper, cardboard,fabric or other flexible sheet material,- and the web is supplied to themachine from a roll of the sheet material, it is often necessary ordesirable, shortly before one roll, or so muchof it as can be used, hasbeen consumed, to supply the web from a fresh roll without interruptingthe operation of the machine. For this purpose it is known to provideapparatus for connecting the end portion of: the expiring web to theleading portion of the fresh web, for example, by means of an adhesivestrip.

An obiect of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatusof the latter kind.

This invention provides an apparatus for connecting the leading portionof afresh web of sheet material to the end portion of a web, being fedto a machine acting on the web, and about to be completely exhausted Theapparatus comprises a loop accumulating device, means for feeding theexhausted web into said device faster than it is. fed into said machineand for arresting such faster feed, a frame, supporting means on saidframe for supporting the leading and end portions of the webs: inoverlapping relation, 21 pair of reciprocable guillotine cutting knivesmounted on said frame one on each side of the plane of-- the supportedoverlapping portions of the webs and extending parallel with the saidplane and with each other and mounted for movement to meet each otherfor cutting said overlapping portions along a line extendingtransversely of the webs, thereby severing waste extremities from saidwebs while leaving the cut edges of these webs in abutting relation toeach other. It includes at least one movable retracting member mountedon said frame and adapted for. withdrawing a thus severed wasteextremity from the abutting cut edge portion of the webs,

a reciprocable presser pad-mounted on saidframe on one side of the planeof said overlapping portions and extendiiig parallel with said plane andmounted for movement up to the abutting. edge portions of the webs, saidpresser pad being adapt'edto hold an adhesive strip and to apply thesame along said abutting edge portions, and driving mechanism foroperating in succession saidfeed arresting means, said cutting knives,said movable retracting member and said presser pad, thereby connectingthe fresh web to the expiring web by means of an adhesive strip.

The reciprocatable guillotine cutting device takes the form of a knifemountedfor reciprocation towards and away from the cuttin position, andpreferably :a pair of cooperating knives mounted for reciprocationtowards and away from each other.

For applying the strip of adhesive material there is used a presser padmounted for reciprocation towards and away from the webs and having aflat surface upon which 2,766,811 Patented Oct. 16, 1956 ice the stripcan be mounted with its adhesive surface outermost. Preferably a pair ofsuch pads is provided, which pads are mounted for reciprocation towardsand away from each otherso as to apply two strips simultaneously, one oneach side of the abutting cut edge portions of the webs.

The presser pads are mounted for reciprocation towards and away from thewebs, and have fiat surfaces between which the abutting cut edgeportions of the webs are pressed during the application of the adhesivestrip or strips. Preferably each pad carries an adhesive strip so as toapply two strips simultaneously one on each side of the abutting cutedge portions of the webs. However, if desired, only one pad may carryan adhesive strip to be applied to one side of the'webs. In this casethe other pad, which carries no strip, serves to support the websduringthe application of the strip. In order to trim on end portionsofthe strips extending beyond the width of the united webs, the presserpads may be provided with means to sever the said end portions at theend of their stroke when applying the adhesive strips to the webs. IWhen the severed waste portion to be retracted is the leading-portion of;a fresh web, the retracting means may be a movable holding device forholding the said leading portion beyondthe cutting region-,- and the webholding device is movable by the operation of the said driving mechanismso as to retract the severed waste portion after the cutting. operation.When the severed waste portion to be retracted is the end portionofaused web, the retracting means may comprise atensioning device, forexample, a spring-loaded tensioning roller, applying tension to the webin advance of the cutting position and adapted on the release of suchtension, when the web is cut, to' retract the said end port-ion.

The driving mechanism advantageously includes aretatable driving memberadapted duringone revolution to operate in succession through drivingconnections the means for arresting the feed of the end portion of theexpiring: web into the loop accumulating device, the cutting device, theretracting means (when operated by the driving mechanism), and thepresserpad or pads, and finally to restart the feed of the web havingthe fresh web connected thereto. The'oomplete cycle of operations canthusbecarried 'out in a very short time during one revolutionoftherotatable driving member. The latter merriber may be rotated bymeans of a crank handle. In this case it is desirable to" providereleasable locking means acting, forexample;. on the crank handle; toprevent further rotation after one-revolution has beenperformed.

In a preferred form of the apparatus two supporting devices for a supplyroll and fresh roll of sheet material are arranged one on each side ofan upright frame in which are mounted the pairs of cooperating knivesand presser pads, a-movable Web holding device :as described labove'forthe web from each roll, a web tensioning device .as described above forthe web from each roll and the rotatable driving member, and guidingmeans are providedforguiding the web from each roll upwardly'between theknives and presser pads, andthence to the loop accumulating device;

The rotatable dr-ivingmember may havepivoted thereto one end'of aconnecting rod the other end of whichis oper-atively connected to asystem of levers and connecting rods adapted to reciprocate the knivesand presser pads insuccessiomduring one revolution-of thed'rivingmember. The driving member may also incorporate a cam adapted tooperate during one revolution of-the said member a levermovable'to-arrest and restart the feedof the web by the slackloop deviceat the appropriate times In=order to prevent the lowercut portion ofaweb fromretractiug, except under the action of the web tensioningdevice, the

- frame.

guiding means for each web may include one or more resilient pressuremembers, for example, transverse rows of bristle brushes, adapted topress the web against a guiding surface. Each web tensioning device isprovided with locking means for locking it against operation when theleading portion of a fresh web is in engagement with the tensioningdevice.

An example of apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention isshown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sideelevation of the apparatus as a whole,

Figure 2 shows in cross-sectional side elevation the upper part of theweb connecting apparatus on a larger scale, and

Figure 3 shows in side elevation the lower part of the web connectingapparatus on the same scale as the upper part shown in Figure 2.

- The apparatus consists of a web-connecting apparatus proper, which isindicated generally by A, and a slack loop device indicated generally byB.

The apparatus A has an upright frame having vertical side members 1 and2 on and between which the various parts of the apparatus are mounted,and which are connected together by tie bars 3. At the lower end of theframe are provided supporting devices 4 and 5 for the rolls 6 and 7 ofsheet material. The device 4 is on the front side of the frame, that isthe side nearest the printing or other machine, and the device 5 is onthe rear side of the frame. Braking means 8 and 9 of known typeareprovided to tension the web during its passage from the roll to theslack loop device. Adjusting devices 8a and 9a serve to adjust thebraking force, and the rods 8b and 9b hold the braking means againstrotation. On the front side of the frame is mounted a guide roller 10over which'the Web 6a from the roll 6 passes to a springloadedtensioning roller 11 and thence up an inclined table 12. The rollers 10and 11 are mounted between two brackets one of which is shown at 13, thebrackets being connected by a cross bar 14 and pivoted at 15 about theaxis of the roller 10. The brackets are tensioned by a spring 16connected to the bracket 13. The web 7a from the roll 7 is similarlyguided over rollers 17 and 18 up the'inclined table'19 on the rear sideof the from which the webs pass upwardly through the plane in which thecutting and connecting operations are performed upon them, a guideroller 22 being provided at 'the top of the frame to guide a web passingto the printing or other machine (not shown). It will be understood thatduring normaloperation a single web from one or other of the rollspasses through the apparatus on its way to the printing or othermachine, while the other roll may occupy the other supporting device inreadiness for connection to the end portion of the used roll at theappropriate moment.

In order to place the idle roll in readiness for the connectingoperation, its leading portion is passed round the guide rollers, alongthe inclined table, upwardly past the cutting and connecting position,and is impaled on a row of spikes 23 or 24 carried by a horizontal roddescribed below. The leading portion of the fresh web is thus held inposition for connection while the web in operation travels past it.

The cutting device consists of a pair of reciprocating horizontal knives25 and 26. The knife 26 is mounted at the lower end of a pair ofdepending arms 27, 28 fixed at their upper ends to a shaft 29 pivoted tothe frame. arms 30, 31 fixed to a shaft 32. For applying the adhesivestrips there are provided a pair of reciprocating horizontal presserpads 33 and 34, the pad 33 being mounted on arms 35, 36 fixed to a shaft37 near the centre of the frame below the level of the inclined guidetables, and the pad 34 is similarly mounted on arms 38,

The two inclined tables direct the webs to the centre of the framebetween a pair of guide rollers 20, 21

39 fixed to a shaft 40. After the knives 25, 26 have swung into thecutting position and swung back clear of the path of the presser pads33, 34, the latter swing upwardly towards one another and sandwich thewebs be tweenthem to apply the adhesive strips.

Mounted horizontally in the lower part of the frame, as shown in Figure3, is a rotatable driving shaft 41 on one end of which is fixed a crankhandle 42. Upon the shaft 41 is fixed a cam 43 to which is pivotedeccentrically one end of a connecting rod 44. The other end of theconnecting rod is pivoted to the outer end of a sector-shaped lever 45fixed to the shaft 37 to which the arms 35, 36 of the front presser pad33 are fixed. Also pivoted to the outer end of the sector-shaped lever45 is a second connecting rod 46 pivoted at its other end to the outerend of a sector-shaped lever 47 fixed to the shaft 29 to which the arms27, 28 of the rear knife 26 are fixed. Accordingly, upwa'rdmovement ofthe connecting rod 44 upon rotation of the cam 43 swings the arms 35, 36of the front presser pad 33 inwardly towards the web-connecting positionand also swings the arms 27, 28 of the rear knife 26 outwardly away fromthe cutting position. In order to impart simultaneous movement to therear presser pad 34 a similar sectorshaped lever 48 is fixed to theshaft 40 to which the arms 38, 39 of that pad are fixed, and a thirdconnecting rod 49 connects the outer end of that lever 48 to the outerend of the sector-shaped lever 47 fixed to the shaft 29 of the rearknife 26. Simultaneous movement is imparted to the front knife 25 bymeans of a fourth connecting rod 50 pivoted at one end to thesector-shaped lever 48 actuating the rear presser pad 34, and at theother end to a lever 51 fixed to the shaft 32'to which the arms 30, '31of the front knife 25 are fixed.

Horizontal rods 52 and 53 mounted one on each side of the vertical pathof the webs above the cutting and connecting position'carry the abovementioned rows of spikes 23 and 24 respectively, which spikes areinclined upwardly and towards the path of the webs. 'The rear row ofspikes 24 serves for impaling the leading edge of a fresh web, whenthe'fresh roll is on the rear supporting device. The'horizontal rods 52and 53 are mounted at their ends on bell-crank levers 54 and 55,respectively,

The knife 25 is similarly mounted on a pair of which enable the rods,after the cutting operation, to be impaled on the spikes out of theweb-connecting position as described above. The bell-crank levers 54 and55 are'connected together by a link 56 so as to move in unison, one ofthe rows of spikes rocking idly. Toactuate the bell-crank levers 54 and55, the lever 55 has an abut: ment 57 lying in the path of a projection58 carried by the knife arm 27. The relative positions of the abutment57 and projection 58 are such that on the return movement of the knifearm immediately after a cutting operation, the projection 58 trips theabutment 57 to actuate the bell-crank lever 55 and with it thebell-crank lever 54. The bell-crank levers 54 and 55 are urged intotheir lowermost positions by a spring 59. In'known manner the cuttingedge of the knife 25 is slightly inclined relatively to the cutting edgeof the knife 26 in scissorfashion, and is urged upwardly by a spring 60to main- .tain contact with the cutting edge of the knife 26 during thecutting operation. An adjustable stop 61 limits the uppermost positionof the edge of the knife 25 so as to prevent it colliding with theopposing knife edge.

The slack loop device B is situated in frontof the webconnectingapparatus A between the latter and the print ing or other machine (notshown), and has a curved trough 61 to receive the slack loop of the webpassing to the said machine. The web passes from the guide roller 22 atthe top of the web-connecting apparatus to a guide roller 62 mountedbeneath the trough 61, and thence over a feed roller 63 which feeds theWeb into the trough faster than it is Withdrawn therefrom. The web isheld areas-11 in feeding engagement with the feed roller 63 by means ofa presser roller 64. The web is withdrawn from the trough 61 over atable 65 between a pair of guidewalls 66 by means of feed rollers on theprinting or other machme. The presser roller 64 is mounted at its endson levers 67 for movement out of engagement with the web on the feedroller 63 to arrest the feed of the web into the trough. The presserroller 64 is moved into and out of engagement by mechanism operated fromthe crank handle 42. This mechanism consists of the cam 43 operated bythe crank handle, a rocking lever 68 pivoted between its ends at 69 andhaving at its lower end a roller 70 running on the cam surface andadjustably connected at its upper end to one end of'a connecting rod 71connected to a lever 72 actuating the presser roller '64 of the slackloop device. The profile of'the cam 43 is such that at the commencementof the revolution of the crank handle 42 the presser roller 64disengages the web to arrest the feed of its end portion through theweb-connecting apparatus, and that near the end of its revolution, afterthe adhesive strip-applying pads 33 and 34 have moved away from thewebs, the presser roller 64 is moved into engagement with the web torestart its feed into the slack loop device.

The connecting rod 44 is connected to the cam 43 at a position such thatin the inoperative position of the cam and crank handle the connectingrod 44 is near the bottom of its stroke, and the knives are close to thecutting position and the pads are nearly at their outermost positions(as shown in Figure 2). Accordingly, at the commencement of therevolution of the cam in clockwise direction the connecting rod 44 willdescend to cause the knife arms to move inwardly to perform a cuttingoperation, and during the ascent of the connecting rod 44 to the top ofits stroke it will cause the knives to move outwards to their outermostposition and the strip-applying pads inwards to press the adhesivestrips on to the cut edge portions of the webs. During its descent fromthe top of its stroke the connecting rod 44 causes the knives and padsto return to their initial positions.

Immediately after the cutting operation the knife arm 27 carrying theprojection 58 actuates the rows of spikes 23 and 24, so that the wasteportion of the fresh web impaled on one or other of the rows of spikesis lifted out of the area of adhesion. The waste portion of the used webis moved down out of the area of adhesion under the action of whicheverof the spring-loaded web-retracting rollers 11 and 18 the web passesover. The web-retracting roller, for example, the roller 11 moves downdue to the rocking movement of the brackets caused by the spring 16connected to the bracket 13. The extent of this movement is limited bythe lower end of the bracket 13 encountering a stop 73.

While the waste portion of the expiring web must be moved clear of thearea of adhesion, as described above, it is necessary that theweb-retracting roller, over which passes the leading portion of thefresh web, should not similarly retract that portion of the web from thearea of adhesion. For this purpose a locking lever 74 is moved to aposition in which its outer end bears against the lower end of thebracket 13, as shown in Figure 2, so as to prevent the roller 11 frombeing-lowered under the action of the spring 16 when the leading portionof a fresh web embraces the roller 11. The lever 74 is fixed to a shaft75 to which is also fixed a hand lever 76, which is on the outer side ofthe side member 1 of the frame, as shown in Figure 1. A similar lockinglever 77, shaft 78 and hand lever 79 are provided in order to lock thebracket 88 of the pair of brackets between which the rollers 17 and 18are mounted. As shown in Figure 2, the locking lever 77 is in theinoperative position, as would be the case when the end portion of aused web embraces the roller 18.

It will be understood that, after the cutting operation and before theadhesive strips have been applied, the webs to be joined will be freefrom tension. In order to hold 5 pawl.

these webs in position during thatinterval a row of bristle brushes 22ais mounted so as to bear against the 'web passinground the guide roller22 at the top of the -frame, similar rows of bristle brushes 12a and 19aare provided to bear against the web on one or other of the tables 12and 19, respectively, and further rows of bristle brushes 10a and 17abear against the web passing over one or other of the guide rollers 10and 17, respectively. In order to enable the leading portion of a freshweb to be placed in position round the rollers and over the table, therows of bristle brushes are mounted so -as to be movable away from thesurfaces against which they bear. Thus, for example, the brushes 100 aresecured to a support 81 fixedto a shaft 82 (see Figure 2),'one end ofwhich extends through the side of the frame and has secured to it a handlever 83 (see Figure 3'). A spring 84 attached to the hand lever urgesthe brushes 10a in'to contact with the roller 10 or a web passing overit, and the hand lever can be operated to remove the brushes fromcontact with the roller.

In order to hold the cut edge portions of the webs to be joined inabutting relation preparatory 'to the application of the adhesivestrips, two pairs of laterally disposed supporting guides are provided,one pair on each 'side 'of the webs, to enclose loosely the marginalportions of the webs. One of these pairs of guides 85 and 86 is shown inFigure 2, the guide 85 supporting the web which is above the line of thecut and the guide 86 supporting the web which is below that line. Theseguides take the form of horizontal rods having open slots at their innerends within which the marginal portions of the webs rest loosely andthrough which a travelling web can move freely. The rods arehorizontally adjustable in a block 87 and can be fixed in the desiredpositions by means of clamping screws 88 and'89.

'The crank handle 42 has an abutment 90 projecting from its inner side,and a stop pawl 91 pivoted at '92 is mounted in the path of the abutmentto stop .further turning of the handle after it has performed onerevolution. The pawl 91 is urged into its operative position by a spring93. In order to release the crank handle 42 the pawl 91 is turnedmanually by means of thehandle 94 at its lower end into the positionshown in broken lines, so that the abutment 90 is free to pass over theA lever 95 is also pivoted at 92 the front arm of which is urgeddownwardly against a stop 96 by means of a spring 87 connected to theframe of the apparatus. The abutment 90 on the crank handle '42 slideson the upper surface of the rear arm of the lever 95 before the handleis arrested by the pawl 91. Thus, the lever 95 brakes the movement ofthe crank handle 42 before it encounters the pawl 91, and also serves tohold the crank lever in its lowermost position.

Each of the adhesive strip-applying pads 33 and 34 may be built up of arow of separate pad elements adjustably mounted in a transversedirection on a cross-bar (not shown), the adhesive strip being securedacross the surfaces of the pad elements. By adjusting the pad elementsat longer or shorter distances apart the length of the pad can be variedto suit webs of different widths.

The adhesive strips are held on the presser pads by means of clamps (notshown) arranged one at each end of the pad beyond the pressing surfacethereof so as to clamp waste end portions of the strips. The pad 34 isprovided at each end thereof close to the extremities of the pressingsurface with a strip-severing member 98 having a serrated edge, and theother pad is provided with correspondingly located grooves (not shown)to receive the severing members. Thus, at the end of the stroke of thepresser pads, when applying the adhesive strips to the webs, thesevering members on the ,pad 34 co-operate with the grooves on the pad.33 .to trim off the waste portions of the strips extending beyond theside edges ofthe webs.

In order to remove the curl from thick webs there nlay be providedde-curling means of known type hassociation with each guide roller and17. Thus, in the case of the roller 10 de-curling bars 99 and 100 arefixed on brackets pivotally mounted about the shaft of the roller. Theupper bar 99 or the lower bar 100 .is moved to bear against the upper orlower surface of the free portion of the Web between the rollers 10 andV 11, depending on the direction of the curl to be removed.

be supposed that the web passing to the printing or other machine isbeing drawn from the roll 7, and that a fresh roll 6 has been placed inposition in readiness for use when required. Before or during thefeeding of the web 7a from the roll 7 the leading portion ofthe freshweb 6a is passed over the rollers 10 and 11, table 12 and roller andthrough the guides 85 and 86, and

is impaled on the row of spikes 23. The brushes 10a and 12a are set tobear against the Web 6a. The hand levers 76 and 79 are set as shown inthe drawings so that the web-retracting roller 11 is locked and thewebretracting roller 18 unlocked. An adhesive strip is placed on each ofthe pads 33 and 34. When so much of the roll 7 has been consumed as tomake it necessary to connect the leading portion of web 6a to the endportion of web 7a, the handle 94 is operated to release the crank handle42 from the pawl 91, and the crank handle is given one revolution.During this revolution the web 7a is arrested, the webs are cut, thewaste portion of the fresh web 6a is lifted clear of the area ofadhesion by the spikes 23, the waste end portion of the web 7a is pulleddown clear of the said area by the roller 18, the pads33 and 34 applythe adhesive strips one oneach side of the abutting cut edges of thewebs .7a and 6a, and the feed of the web 7a is restarted.

' 1f the adhesive strips, applied one on each side of the joined :webs,are in exact superimposition with their longitudinal edges in register asudden thickening will be formed, which may adversely aifect the passageof the joined webs through'the printing or other machine.

In ordertoreduce this disadvantage one of the presser pads 33 and 34 maybe mounted so that in the operative position it is slightly, say 3millimetres, higher than the other pad, and in consequence thelongitudinal edges example, the strips may be narrower in width than thepads, and the strip on one pad placed higher up on its pad than thestrip on the other pad.

The adhesive strips may be of known kind having a permanently tackyadhesive coating on one side. If desired, however, the adhesive surfacemay be of the kind requiring wetting or heating to render it tacky.

What we claim is:

1. An automatic apparatus for splicing the leading portion of a freshweb of sheet material to the end portion of a web being fed to a machineand nearing exhaustion, which apparatus comprises a loop accumulatingdevice, means for feeding the exhausted web into said accumulatingdevice faster than it is fed into said machine and for arresting suchfaster feed, a frame, supporting mean's onsaid frame for supporting theleading andend por tions of the webs in overlapping relation, a pair. of

reciprocable guillotine cutting knives mounted on said frame one on eachside of the plane of the supported overlapping portions of the ,webs andextending parallel with the said plane and with each other and-mountedfor movement to 'meet each other. for cutting said overlapping portionsalong a line extending transversely of the webs,-wherebywaste'extremities are severed :from

said webs while leaving the cut edges of these webs in V abuttingrelation -to each other, at least one movable retracting membermounted-onsaid frame and adapted for withdrawing fa thus severed wasteextremity from the abutting cut edge portion of the webs, at least onereciprocable presser pad mounted on said frame on one side of the planeof said overlapping'portions and extending parallel with said plane andmounted for movement up to the abutting cut edge portions of' the webs,said presser pad being adapted to receive and hold an adhesive strip andto apply the same along said abutting edge portions, and a drivingmechanism for operating 'in succession said feed arresting means, saidcutting knives, -said movable retracting member and said presser pad,whereby, the fresh web is spliced to the exhausted web by means of anadhesive strip. a

2 An automatic apparatus for splicing the leading portion of a fresh webof sheet material to the end'portion of a Web being fed to a machineacting and nearing exhaustion, which apparatus comprises'a loopaccumulating device, means for feeding the exhausted web into saiddevice faster than it is fed into said machine and for arresting suchfaster feed, a frame, supporting means on said frame for supporting theleading and end portions ofthe webs in overlapping relation, a pair ofreciprocable guillotine cutting knives mounted on said frame one on eachside of the plane of the supported overlapping portions of the Webs andextending parallel ;with said plane and with each other and mounted formovementto meet each other for cutting said overlapping portions along aline extending transversely of the webs, whereby severing wasteextremities are severed from said webswhile leaving the cut edges ofthese webs in abutting relation to each other, a movable holding memberon'said frame adapted to hold the leading portion of the fresh webbeyond the line of cut and .to withdraw the same as a severed wasteextremity from the abutting cut edge portions of the webs, a tensioningmember yieldingly mounted on said frame for applying tension to the endportion of the expiring web in the rear of the line of cut, said memberupon release of the tension as the web is cut yieldably moving towithdraw said end portion asa severed waste portion from the abuttingcut edge portions of the webs, a pair of reciprocable presser padsmounted on 'said frame one on each side of the plane of said overlappingportions and extending parallel with said plane and with each other andmounted for movement to meet each other at the abutting cut. edgeportions of the webs, each pad being adapted to'h'old an adhesive stripand to apply the same along said abutting edge portions, and a drivingmechanism for operating in succession said feed arresting means, saidcutting knives, said movable holding member and said presser pads,whereby the fresh web is spliced to the exhausted web by means of twoadhesive strips.

3. An automatic apparatus for splicing the leading portion of a freshweb of sheet material to the end portion of a web being fed to a machineand nearing exhaustion,'which apparatus comprises a loop accumulatingdevice, means for feeding the exhausted web into said device faster thanit is fed into said machine. andfor arresting such faster feed, anupright frame, two supports on said frame for a rolled up web of sheetmaterial being used and a rolled up fresh web, supporting means on saidframe for supporting the leading and end portions of the webs verticallyin overlapping relation, a pair of reciprocable guillotine cuttingknives mounted on said frame one on each side of the plane of thesupported'overlapping portions of the webs and extending parallel withthe said plane and with each other and mounted for movement to meet eachother for cutting said overlapping portions alonga line extendingtransversely of 'the webs, whereby waste extremities are severed fromsaid webs while leaving the cut edges of these webs in abutting relationto each other, at least one movable retracting member mounted on saidframe and adapted for withdrawing a thus severed waste extremity fromthe abutting cut edge portion of the webs, a pair of reciprocablepresser pads mounted on said frame one on each side of the plane of saidoverlapping portions and extending parallel with said plane and witheach other and mounted for movement to meet each other at the abuttingout edge portions of the webs, each pad being adapted to hold anadhesive strip and to apply the same along said abutting edge portions,guiding means for guiding a web from each roll up to the aforesaidsupporting means, and a driving mechanism for operating in successionsaid feed arresting means, said cutting knives, said movable retractingmember and said presser pads, whereby the fresh web is connected to theexhausted web by means of two adhesive strips.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein each guiding means forguiding a web from its roll up to the said supporting means comprises atleast one guiding surface and resilient pressure members adapted topress said web against said guiding surface.

5. An automatic apparatus for joining the leading portion of a fresh webof sheet material to the end portion of a web being fed to a machine andnearing exhaustion, which apparatus comprises a loop accumulatingdevice, means for feeding the exhausted web into said device faster thanit is fed into said machine and for arresting such faster feed, anupright frame, supporting means on said frame for supporting the leadingand end portions of the webs vertically in overlapping relation, a pairof reciprocable guillotine cutting knives mounted on said frame one oneach side of the plane of the supported overlapping portions of the websand extending parallel with the said plane and with each other andmounted for movement to meet each other for cutting said overlappingportions along a line extending transversely of the webs, whereby wasteextremities from said webs are severed while leaving the cut edges ofthese webs in abutting relation to each other, a movable holding memberon said frame adapted to hold the leading portion of the fresh webbeyond the line of cut and to withdraw the same as a severed wasteextremity fiom the abutting cut edge portions of the webs, a tensioningmember yieldingly mounted on said frame for applying tension to the endportion of the exhausted web in the rear of the line of cut, said memberupon release of the tension as the web is cut yieldably moving towithdraw said end portion as a severed waste portion from the abuttingcut edge portions of the webs, a pair of reciprocable presser padsmounted on said frame one on each side of the plane of said overlappingportions and extending parallel with said plane and with each other andmounted for movement to meet each other at the abutting cut edgeportions of the webs, each pad being adapted to receive and hold anadhesive strip and to apply the same along said abutting edge portions,and driving mechanism for operating in succession said feed arrestingmeans, said cutting knives, said movable holding member and said presserpads, whereby the fresh web is joined to the exhausted web by means oftwo adhesive strips.

6. An automatic apparatus for connecting the leading portion of a freshweb of sheet material to the end portion of a Web being fed to a machineand nearing exhaustion, which apparatus comprises a loop accumulatingdevice, means for feeding the exhausted web into said device faster thanit is fed into said machine and for arresting such faster feed, anupright frame, supporting means on said frame for supporting the leadingand end portions of the webs vertically in overlapping relation, a pairof reciprocable guillotine cutting knives mounted on said frame one 'oneach side of the plane of the supported overlapping portions of the Websand extending parallel with said plane and with each other and mountedfor movement to meet each other for cutting said overlapping portionsalong a line extending transversely of the webs, whereby wasteextremities are severed from said webs while leaving the cut edges ofthese webs in abutting relation to each other, a movable holding memberon said frame adapted to hold the leading portion of the fresh webbeyond the line of cut and to withdraw the same as a severed wasteextremity from the abutting cut edge portions of the webs, a tensioningmember yieldingly mounted on said frame for applying tension to the endportion of the exhausted web in the rear of the line of cut, said memberupon release of the tension as the web is cut yieldably moving towithdraw said end portion as a severed waste portion from the abuttingcut edge portions of the Webs, a pair of reciprocable presser padsmounted on said frame one on each side of the plane of said overlappingportions and extending parallel with said plane and with each other andmounted for movement to meet each other at the abutting cut edgeportions of the webs, each pad being adapted to receive and hold anadhesive strip and to apply the same along the said abutting edgeportions, and a rotatable driving member mounted on said frame andhaving driving connections with said feed arresting means, said cuttingknives, said movable holding member and said presser pads, the saiddriving member being adapted during one revolution to operate insuccession through said driving connections the last said arrestingmeans, knives, holding member and presser pads.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,606,136 Garrett et al. Aug. 5, 1952

